Griffith Observatory

Completed in 1935, the Griffith Observatory is almost as iconic as the Hollywood sign. It appeals to anyone who 'loves space, science, the stunning view of LA and the building’s Art Deco architecture,' says Bonnie Winings, a director of Friends Of The Observatory.

But for film fans, the observatory in Griffith Park may be most recognised as the featured spot in 2016’s magical La La Land dance scene in which actors Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone waltz through the air under a star-filled sky. Prior to the award-winning film, the Observatory served as the signature location for 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause. James Dean’s new-kid-in-town character tries to impress his classmates inside the planetarium, only to get caught up in a knife fight in the car park.

In an interesting real-life plot twist, Dean commissioned a bust of himself shortly before his death at age 24. That bust is now on prominent display near the front lawn of the Observatory. A lot of fan photos still get taken by that statue, says Winings, 'since the backdrop is also the Hollywood sign'.

While some simply go to the Observatory for the view (arguably the best in LA), there’s much more to see. The Griffith Observatory presents mind-expanding planetarium shows throughout the year, plus films and special events in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theatre, and hosted telescope parties (check the calendar for details). A nice perk: admission to the Observatory is free.

If you’re eager for a snack before or after your visit, how about a slice of quiche, a crumbly scone, or just a good cup of coffee at the nearby Trails Café - a walk-in eatery nestled amongst the trees? There is parking along the road, but intrepid visitors might prefer the 2-mile walk from the Observatory.

As the largest municipal park in Los Angeles, Griffith Park protects 4,511 acres of mountains and canyons at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s a remarkable stretch of rough, hilly wilderness in the heart of an enormous urban area—and it’s also home to a wealth of culture.

Want to hike? Choose from more than 50 miles of trails lacing the chaparral-studded slopes, including one to the top of 1,625-foot Mount Hollywood, the park’s highest point. Another trail takes you to the site of the Old Zoo, where you can explore animal enclosures that have been abandoned and untouched for over 50 years. Unpaved roads also provide access for mountain bikers and trail rides; guided rides out of Sunset Ranch include great views of the Hollywood sign.

The sprawling public park is now well known for its cameo in 2016’s smash hit La La Land—actors Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone begin their epic dance scene twirling on one of Griffith Park’s hilltops as city lights twinkle below (more on this later). But the public park has been around for generations. It was an eccentric mining tycoon, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, who in 1896 donated over 3,000 acres of his Rancho Los Felis to the City of Los Angeles. It was a Christmas gift to be used as “a place of rest and relaxation for the masses.” Since Griffith’s original contribution, bits and pieces have been added to the park, which now attracts more than 10 million visitors a year.

5 Amazing Things to Do in Griffith Park

Discover astronomical wonders, the history of the American West and an antique carousel at the largest municipal park in the country

Griffith Park spans more than 4,300 scenic acres, making it the largest municipal park in the country. Experiences at attractions range from ogling elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo to hearing big-name musicians perform at the open-air Greek Theatre, and here are five compelling ways to spend a day in the park.

Hike along pristine, scenic trails

Escape the city on your own or with a knowledgeable guide on 53 miles of hiking trails that lace Griffith Park’s remarkably unspoiled terrain. Follow well-marked paths through the lush, fern-filled glen at Fern Dell, amble through an urban wilderness to Bronson Caves (the Bat Cave in the 1960s Batman TV series), or trek to the Griffith Observatory. Afterward, grab an avocado sandwich and Stumptown Coffee at the Trails Café.

A Los Angeles landmark since 1935, this formidable Art Deco–style building houses a triple-beam solar telescope and a twin refracting Zeiss telescope, both for public use. (Perhaps you remember the facility’s star turn in the film La La Land). Its outdoor deck provides an awesome view of the L.A. basin and its mountains-to-sea environs. Visit the astronomy exhibits in the Hall of Science or be awed by the stars at Samuel Oschin Planetarium, which boasts one of the largest planetarium domes in the world.

Transport yourself back to the Wild, Wild West

Learn the truth about the shootout at the OK Corral at The Autry Museum of the American West, a beloved museum Gene “The Singing Cowboy” Autry helped launch in 1988. Eight galleries explore the mythic history of the American West through collections of buckskin jackets, branding irons, saddle blankets, barbed wire, Native American baskets and Frederic Remington sculptures. The museum store is a winner for gift-givers.

Hop on a horse and hit the trails

Let Trigger or Flicka do the walking for you at Sunset Ranch Hollywood. Daily horseback rides include a one-hour excursion that delivers a close-up look at the world-famous Hollywood Sign plus grand views of the chaparral-covered hillsides sloping down to the metropolis below. Longer rides include a trek to the top of Mount Hollywood for a 360-degree Los Angeles vista.

Take a spin on the Griffith Park merry-go-round

This carousel inspired Walt Disney, whose daughters loved to climb atop the gilded horses. While they galloped on this 1926 Spillman merry-go-round, Disney imagined a much grander amusement park, which later became… well, you know. The carousel’s 68 prancing steeds are jumpers, and a custom-built organ plays more than 1,500 marches and waltzes.

Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens

No time for an African safari or Amazon adventure? Then take a walk on the wild side at the remarkable—and remarkably varied—Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens in L.A.’s Griffith Park. Explore tropical habitats at Rainforest of the Americas, and observe chimps in a natural setting of waterfalls, palm trees, and rock formations in Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains. (World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall praised the chimps’ digs as one of the world’s outstanding zoo habitats.)

The 133-acre L.A. Zoo is home to more than 1,100 animals, including 29 endangered species. Get close-up (but safe) looks at spectacular Sumatran tigers, deadly Komodo dragons, and bright-orange orangutans. The zoo is also a horticultural paradise with more than 7,500 individual plants. And, as you’ll discover in the kid-friendly California Condor Rescue Zone, it has played a key role in bringing the iconic California condor back from the brink of extinction.

If visiting during the winter holiday season, stick around until after sunset to see the elaborate holiday lights show, Zoo Lights. With a cup of hot cocoa in hand, you can walk through shimmering light tunnels and a disco-ball forest, watch larger-than-life animal-shaped displays, and meet real reindeer.

Insider tip: Go nose-to-nose with a mama hippo and her baby at the zoo’s Hippo Encounter.

The Autry Museum of the American West

Gone are the glory days of the Wild West, but you can still get in on the action at the Autry Museum of the American West. Just across from the entrance to the L.A. Zoo in Griffith Park, you’ll find this 36,000-square foot complex with over 500,000 works of art and artefacts from the American frontier.

Co-founded by musical western star Gene Autry in 1988, it’s natural that the museum would dedicate space to cool Western film memorabilia, from the pistols used by Steve McQueen to costumes from 2005’s Brokeback Mountain. There’s even a replica movie set of an Old Western town with storefronts. (Little-known fact: The first-ever feature-length movie filmed in Hollywood was a Western—the 1914 silent film The Squaw Man, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The camera used to film it is here, too.)

A bronze statue of ‘the singing cowboy’ Autry greets you at the entrance, but the museum covers much more than just Hollywood gunslingers—you’ll learn all about the real Old West, too. You’ll find engraved golden pistols given to Annie Oakley by her husband Frank Butler. There’s an extensive saddle display, a mail stage coach from 1855, Smith & Wesson revolvers, pioneer portraits, cowboy hats, buckskin jackets—even a saloon with a mahogany bar and roulette wheel.

Western lore aside, the Autry also celebrates the region’s contemporary artists. Every year, it curates the Masters of the American West, a magnificent exhibition with works from more than 70 Western artists. Yet the real must-see is the annual American Indian Arts Marketplace held in November, where visitors can peruse and purchase paintings, sculpture, basketry, carvings and other items from roughly 200 artists and artisans representing over 40 different tribes.

The Greek Theatre

Enjoy live music under the stars at this famed Griffith Park concert venue

There aren’t many cities where you can listen to live music under a star-studded sky with majestic canyons as your backdrop. Enter the Greek Theatre, an outdoor amphitheatre carved into a hillside of Griffith Park that’s become so iconic for its magical setting and great natural acoustics, it inspired the 2010 film, Get Him to the Greek, starring Russell Brand. (In the movie, a music executive must escort a wayward rock star to—you guessed it—the Greek Theatre, for his first stop on a career-defining concert tour.)

The Greek Theatre has a rich history of its own. Upon his death in 1919, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith left a $1 million trust to the City of Los Angeles with instructions to construct an observatory and an outdoor theatre with Greek columns. Though the cornerstone was finally laid in 1928, the venue didn’t host its first act, an operatic concert, until 1931. Over the next few decades, sporadic use caused the Greek Theatre to fall in disrepair. During World War II, it was even converted into military barracks. But renewed interest in the 1970s sparked its resurgence. Since then, the Greek Theatre has hosted a slew of musical legends, including Frank Sinatra and Sir Elton John.

The amphitheatre’s event line-up always promises big names—like Tom Jones, Pete Townshend, and Harry Styles —and with an intimate 5,900-person capacity, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The season only runs from spring to mid-fall, but the theatre, modelled after a Greek temple, is still worth a look-see in the off-season.

Insider tip: Consider pre-ordering one of the picnic baskets for two, filled with Mediterranean-style noshes like hummus, charcuterie, baguettes or Greek salad.

Horses at Griffith Park

Griffith Park has a venerable 110-year history and nothing captures its old-timey charm more than the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round. It was built in 1926 by the Spillman Engineering Company and then moved from San Diego to Griffith Park in 1937. The amusement ride features 68 intricately carved horses with jewel-encrusted bridles, leaping to one of 1,500 tunes played by a Stinson 165 military band organ (reportedly the largest on the West coast). The story goes that Walt Disney, who frequented the carousel on weekends with his young daughters, used it as inspiration for what would later become Disneyland.

If the pretend ponies of a merry-go-round are too tame for your tot, head down the road and for just $5, kids can ride the real deal at Griffith Park Pony Ride. The family-owned business has been operating on the former ranchland since 1948 and, with roughly 100 Shetland and Welsh ponies, it has something for any pint-size wrangler-in-training. Got a first-timer? Your safest bet is the Pony Sweep, a merry-go-round-style ride where ponies walk 8 laps around a fixed carousel. Older kids can walk, or trot, along a separate 1/5-mile track on slow, medium, or big ponies. The catch: Riders must be between the ages of 1 and 13 and cannot weigh more than 100 pounds. Opt for a covered wagon ride and grown-ups can get in on the fun, too.

Or, take one of the traditional, guided horseback rides out of Sunset Ranch, which include great views of the Hollywood sign. Day or evening tours, which last up to four hours, let you explore the park on horseback; you can also book an overnight package that includes a ride, dinner, and a stay in a home once owned by Bette Davis.

Trains at Griffith Park

This massive urban park gives youngsters not one, but three, chances to ride trains. (Well, make that four, if you count the L.A. Zoo’s Choo Choo). Tucked in Griffith Park’s northwest corner, you’ll find Travel Town, a transport museum focusing on the history of the Western railroad thru the 1930s. With dozens of vintage train cars lining the campus, some dating as far back as 1880, it’s an impressive collection for any locomotive lover.

For $3, guests can ride a miniature train twice around the mostly outdoor museum’s perimeter. With just one tunnel it may not be a long excursion, but the close encounters with real-live steam engines (including one that kids can climb) and a gift shop stocked with train-related items (like Thomas the Tank Engine toys) make the trip worthwhile. Be sure to wander to the back of one of the buildings: There you’ll find an observation window where, on the weekends, your little ones can stand nose-to-glass while rail hobbyists skilfully assemble a teeny-tiny model railroad and its surrounding California landscape.

Next to Travel Town is an independently run facility, L.A. Live Steamers. Only open on Sundays, guests can ride for free (with a suggested donation of $3) on miniature trains, maintained by local train clubs, which snake through tunnels and go by shrunken towns. (Note to parents: These trains are of a smaller scale—riders straddle the seats rather than sit on benches—so there’s a height minimum of 34 inches).

Don’t miss Walt Disney’s barn, which was transported from the backyard of his Holmby Hills property in 1998. The barn, where the famous rail enthusiast built and maintained his own train collection, is only open on the third Sunday of every month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you’re only in it for the ride, then head straight to Griffith Park & Southern Railroad near the park’s south entrance. Kids can board one of two miniature train reproductions with kitschy names: the Colonel Griffith or the Freedom Train. From there, they’ll wind along a mile of track over bridges, past meadows and grazing ponies, and through an Old Western town. Be sure to look for statues of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, greeting passers-by from outside their cottage.

Regions

Pick a region form the map or the list below to explore.

Regions

Scroll down to explore the twelve regions of California.

1. Shasta Cascade

This region, in California’s north-east corner, is known for mountains, forests, waterfalls, and amazing, safe to visit volcanoes. The region, a 3 hour drive north of Sacramento, takes its name from the rugged Cascade Mountains and their signature peak in state, 14,180 foot/4,322 metre Mount Shasta, a volcano.

Highlights

2. North Coast

With crashing waves along the coast and soaring redwood trees blanketing miles of uncrowded parkland, this is one of California’s most spectacular regions. The largest city, Eureka, is roughly a 5 hour drive north of San Francisco. But what a drive: lush wine country, charming hamlets, spouting whales, and breathtaking sunsets.

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3. Gold Country

The western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Range, defining California’s eastern border, are known as the Gold Country, named after the rich Mother Lode discovered here in the mid 1850s. While gold is still found in the region, new riches include white water rafting, tucked away towns, farm fresh dining, and award winning wines.

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4. San Francisco Bay Area

On the western oceanfront of Northern California, at the state’s distinctive bend along the coast, lies this breathtaking region. It is framed by an unforgettable gateway, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, spanning the mouth of San Francisco Bay. Explore diverse cities, picturesque hamlets, family friendly beaches, coastal parklands, and wine country, including Napa and Sonoma wine country, 1½ hours north of San Francisco.

5. High Sierra

Nicknamed 'California’s backbone,' this region of towering granite peaks defines much of the state’s eastern boundary. Visit Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes and the giant trees of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. All within a day’s drive of either San Francisco or L.A. In winter, enjoy snow sports. In summer, go hiking, mountain biking, fishing, or boating.

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6. Central Valley

Running right down the middle of California, this broad region contains some of most productive farmland in the world. Wine country around Lodi features big, bold reds. Further south, Fresno has a lively arts scene.

8. Deserts

This dramatic region takes up the south-eastern half of the state. Remarkable desert parklands, including Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Anza Borrego, provide an extraordinary chance to explore, while the oasis like allure of Palm Springs, 3 hours north-east of San Diego, offers sunny resort style getaways, with golf, tennis, spas, and high end shopping.

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9. Inland Empire

This densely populated Southern California region has surprising alpine getaways, like Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, in the impressive San Bernardino Range. On the region’s sunny east side, explore the inviting Temecula Valley wine region. The university town of Riverside is the region’s largest city. San Bernardino, the second largest city, has museums and impressive shopping, while Fontana has NASCAR racing.

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10. Los Angeles County

This sunny region along the state’s southern coast is California’s most populated region, best known as the capital of the entertainment industry. Here, film stars really do work in Hollywood, play in the surf at Malibu, and shop in Beverly Hills. Looping motorways make the car king, but the region also has a surprisingly good network of buses and light rail, a hassle-free way to explore.

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11. Orange County

Tucked between San Diego and Los Angeles Counties, this region is known for flawless beaches and 'the happiest place on earth,' Disneyland Resort. Anaheim, the theme park’s home, offers a surprisingly hip vibe in a refurbished downtown. Newport Beach has dazzling yachts, Huntington Beach has iconic surfing, and Costa Mesa beckons with top shopping.

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12. San Diego County

This sun and surf region is known for some of the best weather and warmest water in the state. San Diego, the state’s second largest city, is home to the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, one of the world’s great urban parks. For family fun, play at SeaWorld San Diego and LEGOLAND California Resort. Inland, discover surprising mountain towns like Julian, known for orchards and apple pie.